This disclosure relates to audio speakers, and more particularly to a system for performing self-diagnostics on audio speaker systems.
Computer systems in general and personal computer systems in particular have attained widespread use for providing computer power to many segments of today's modern society. A personal computer system can usually be defined as a desktop, floor standing, or portable microcomputer that includes a system unit having a system processor and associated volatile and non-volatile memory, a display monitor, a keyboard, one or more diskette drives, a fixed disk storage device and an optional printer. One of the distinguishing characteristics of these systems is the use of a system board to electrically connect these components together. These personal computer systems are information handling systems which are designed primarily to give independent computing power to a single user (or a relatively small group of users in the case of personal computers which serve as computer server systems) and are inexpensively priced for purchase by individuals or small businesses. A personal computer system may also include one or a plurality of I/O devices (i.e. peripheral devices) which are coupled to the system processor and which perform specialized functions. Examples of I/O devices include modems, sound and video devices or specialized communication devices. Mass storage devices such as hard disks, CD-ROM drives and magneto-optical drives are also considered to be peripheral devices. Computers producing multimedia effects (e.g., sound coupled with visual images) are in increased demand as computers are used for artistic endeavors, for entertainment, and for education. The use of sound makes game playing more realistic and helps reinforce knowledge and make educational programs more enjoyable to use. Digital effects and music can also be created on the computer and played through attached speakers without the need for additional musical instruments or components.
Multimedia systems today often include audio devices (e.g., sound cards) connected to the computer to which speaker systems can be attached for playing music and other sound effects. The speaker systems include analog circuitry, such as, for example, volume controllers, tone processors, equalizers, and attenuators. Even speaker systems with high digital computing content nonetheless include a large component of analog circuitry.
Testing and diagnosis of these analog portions of a speaker system pose challenges to modern computer manufacturing and repair facilities, and to field diagnostics personnel. In prior art speaker systems, if the system fails to operate in an application, the operator can only manipulate the inputs to the speaker (i.e., signal, power, and controls) in order to determine whether the speaker system is functioning correctly. It is known in the art to test the operability of analog components of the speaker system by invoking a test procedure that plays music or a test pattern on the speakers. An operator, usually a user or technician, listens to the resulting output of the speakers to determine whether the test passes or fails.
A challenge of testing and diagnosing speaker systems by listening to the result in a manufacturing or test facility arises because the test area is often noisy, which renders it difficult to distinguish one system being tested from another. In addition, to thoroughly test a speaker system, the operator must listen to a variety of sounds to ensure that the system is working properly. This approach is time-consuming and can adversely affect the throughput of the manufacturing facility. Finally, human error, which may be caused by repetitively listening to numerous systems, may cause the technician to pass an audio device which would otherwise fail. Similarly, human error is also a challenge for field diagnostics personnel, such as tech support providers. In such situations, a user may not fully understand the installation and testing procedures for a speaker subsystem, and therefore may impart erroneous information to the tech support provider.
An improvement to the testing and diagnosis of audio speaker systems is needed which alleviates the burden on users or technicians who manually listen to sounds. What is desired is a manner of, in addition to listening to sounds, obtaining reliable, easy-to-interpret results from the testing of the internal circuitry of the speaker system.